Umpqua River Light: Oregon's First, Twice

The Umpqua River Lighthouse has the distinction of being the first lighthouse on the Oregon coast, and of having been built twice. Congress funded the original in eighteen fifty-one, materials arrived from San Francisco, and the light was first illuminated on October tenth, eighteen fifty-seven, with a third-order Fresnel lens. The same keeper who would later tend the Yaquina Head Light, Fayette Crosby, was its first attendant.

The site was badly chosen. Built along the river channel, the tower stood in the path of seasonal floods. Its foundation gave way in October of eighteen sixty-three and the structure collapsed after only six years in service. Congress approved a replacement in eighteen eighty-eight. The second lighthouse was completed and lit in eighteen ninety-four on higher ground, where it still stands today.